Northeast Syria Between Autonomous, Local Administrations

Children in al-Hol displacement camp in Hasaka governorate last April  | Photo: Reuters
Children in al-Hol displacement camp in Hasaka governorate last April | Photo: Reuters
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Northeast Syria Between Autonomous, Local Administrations

Children in al-Hol displacement camp in Hasaka governorate last April  | Photo: Reuters
Children in al-Hol displacement camp in Hasaka governorate last April | Photo: Reuters

The Syrian government has presented the “local administration” project to be adopted by the country’s northeastern forces in areas they run, media reports said on Sunday.

The pro-government Syrian newspaper, al-Watan, quoted member of the People’s Assembly Nawaf al-Melhem as saying that the project is found in the country’s 2012 constitution, noting that northeastern forces have neither rejected nor approved it.

The delegation includes Coordinator of the National Dialogue Follow-up Committee of the Arab Socialist Baath Party Faisal Azouz and Secretary-General of Syria's Tadamun (Solidarity) Party Mohammed Abu Qassem, member of the Political Bureau of the Syrian National Social Party Tariq Al-Ahmad, Secretary-General of the Youth Party for Building and Change Berwin Ibrahim, and Head of the opposing Peaceful Change Movement Fateh Jamous.

The meeting was held in Qamishli city, northeast Syria, on Saturday between the delegation members and a delegation of Kurdish, Arab, and Syrian figures and forces.

It included Saleh Muslim, member of the Syrian Democratic Union Party (PYD), Joseph Lehdo, member of the Syriac Union Party, Mohamed Musa, head of the Kurdish Left Party, Mustafa Mashayekh, member of the Unity Party and Abdel Ilah Arabo, public relations member, according to the German news agency, DPA.

It is worth noting that there is an autonomous administration in northern and eastern Syria, a region in which a de facto autonomy has been established.

The region is controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), of which the Kurds are the most prominent components.

Melhem stressed that Saturday’s meeting was held after several coordination meetings between both parties, during which they both found that national ideas and constants bring them together.

“In previous meetings, participants asserted that we both are Syrians, and they have rights like any Syrian individual.”

“They emphasized that they are not separatists, they protect Syria’s borders, they purified Syria’s northeastern region from terrorism and had fought and made sacrifices,” he explained.

He pointed out that “in previous meetings, they also presented the autonomous project, and we presented the local administration project to discuss both together.”

“We agreed to discuss the positive points in both projects and set up an agreement to present it to the Syrian government,” he said.



EU Condemns Israel's West Bank Control Measures

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
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EU Condemns Israel's West Bank Control Measures

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)

The European Union on Monday condemned new Israeli measures to tighten control of the West Bank and pave the way for more settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, AFP reported.

"The European Union condemns recent decisions by Israel's security cabinet to expand Israeli control in the West Bank. This move is another step in the wrong direction," EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni told journalists.


Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher Were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher Were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

The atrocities unleashed on El-Fasher in Sudan's Darfur region last October were a "preventable human rights catastrophe", the United Nations said Monday, warning they now risked being repeated in the neighbouring Kordofan region.

 

"My office sounded the alarm about the risk of mass atrocities in the besieged city of El-Fasher for more than a year ... but our warnings were ignored," UN rights chief Volker Turk told the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

 

He added that he was now "extremely concerned that these violations and abuses may be repeated in the Kordofan region".

 

 

 

 


Arab League Condemns Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

The General Secretariat of the Arab League strongly condemned decisions by Israeli occupation authorities to impose fundamental changes on the legal and administrative status of the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly in the West Bank, describing them as a dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of international law, international legitimacy resolutions, and signed agreements, SPA reported.

In a statement, the Arab League said the measures include facilitating the confiscation of private Palestinian property and transferring planning and licensing authorities in the city of Hebron and the area surrounding the Ibrahimi Mosque to occupation authorities.

It warned of the serious repercussions of these actions on the rights of the Palestinian people and on Islamic and Christian holy sites.

The statement reaffirmed the Arab League’s firm support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them the establishment of their independent state on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.